Southington Man Found With Nearly $100K Worth Of Stolen Merchandise

By Justin Muszynski, The Bristol Press

July 30, 2021

A Southington man faces a felony charge after police found nearly $100,000 worth of stolen tools in his home, which they say he intended to sell.

Francisco Martorell, 40, of 1352 Meriden Ave., turned himself in last Thursday on one count of first-degree larceny.

According to police, Martorell acted as a “fence” in a commercial burglary ring. Police said this means he acted as a middle man between thieves who steal power tools and buyers.

Police said they received a tip in October 2020 indicating Martorell was selling high end power tools. They noted that he had been previously investigated for the same thing multiple times, including most recently in February 2020.

Police also said they found that Martorell would correspond thefts with boosters and discuss items he wanted. He would then post the items on Facebook Marketplace and Offerup.

A search of Martorell’s home turned up 349 items of mostly new, unboxed merchandise, according to police.

Police said Home Depot employees were able to confirm most of the items seized were sold in their stores. They also were able to provide video surveillance of the thefts, according to police. Police said a total of about $93,000 worth of merchandise from Home Depot was found in Martorell’s home.

Martorell is free on $20,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in New Britain Superior Court on Aug. 5.

Justin Muszynski can be reached at 860-973-1809 or jmuszynski@bristolpress.com.